To the Editor:
I am concerned that there is ongoing confusion regarding sexual minorities. It is clear that homosexuality is not a psychiatric disorder. The official diagnostic stigmatization of homosexuality was abandoned after lack of data that could establish any pathology associated with being either gay or lesbian. Gender dysphoria, unhappiness with one's biological sexual designation, is very different from same sex attraction and is a psychiatric disorder. Individuals who designate themselves as transgender, which is not a formal medical or psychiatric term, often are not homosexual but have significant problems of self identity. As director of research at the Sexual Behaviors Unit at Johns Hopkins, we have spent the past 25 years studying such conditions. Transgender individuals are not bad people but often have serious conflicts and issues that are not a result of society but due to internal psychological conflicts. They need treatment as well as acceptance. I recognize that this is not a popular stance but in the long run will save much suffering by these individuals.
